Fenerbahçe’s Yıldırım calls on fans to attend protest


Date posted: February 13, 2014

İSTANBUL

Fenerbahçe Chairman Aziz Yıldırım has called on his club’s fans to march on Sunday for “justice for Turkey and Fenerbahçe” in İstanbul.

Yıldırım, speaking on CNN Türk, urged Fenerbahçe fans to attend the rally. “No one can hinder the demonstrations for Ali İsmail Korkmaz. Fener supporters will chant. If you are going to suppress it, people will riot and it won’t end well.”

Korkmaz, a youth killed by policemen after he participated in a Gezi Park protest in Eskişehir in June, has become a symbol of resistance in Turkey.

A group of Fenerbahçe supporters and riot police faced off at the end of December 2013, when hundreds of youths chanted Korkmaz’s name in slogans before a Spor Toto Super League Fenerbahçe-Kayserispor match in Kadıköy’s Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium. Fenerbahçe fans, venting frustration over a graft scandal that erupted on Dec. 17 with the detention of prominent businessmen close to Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and three ministers’ sons, chanted “everywhere is corruption, everywhere is bribery” and called on the government to resign.

Yıldırım pledged to attend the rally himself, adding that the demonstration is being organized by lawyers working for Fenerbahçe fan associations. Though he denounced insulting and obscene chants, Yıldırım defended fans’ right to chant at the 34th minute of football matches, which has become a widespread practice in Turkey since the Gezi Park demonstrations. Thirty-four is the registration number for İstanbul license plates.
‘Gülen’s audio recordings are part of operation’

Yıldırım went on to address leaked voice recordings — purportedly of Turkish İslamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen — that were recently published by pro-government media outlets, calling the leaks an “operation.”

“We consider the dissemination … of wiretaps of Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi’s conversations an operation, and we condemn and refuse to accept these kinds of activities,” Yıldırım said.

Voice recordings said to contain Gülen discussing efforts to shut down private financial institution Bank Asya appeared on a number of websites on Jan. 13, deepening privacy concerns as allegations of corruption continue to harry Erdoğan’s government.

Gülen filed criminal complaints over the illegal wiretaps and against the media outlets and websites that published the distorted voice recordings in an attempt to defame the scholar.

“I have never gotten acquainted with Fethullah Gülen,” Yıldırım said. “However, we talked over the phone after I got out of jail. He wished me well and said that he does not wish me any harm.”

Yıldırım, who was serving a sentence for match-fixing, had been quoted by some media outlets as accusing a Hizmet-controlled group of orchestrating a plot against him.

“When I was in jail I asked who led the operation [against me]. The people who were visiting me said that it was orchestrated by Cemaat [the Hizmet movement, inspired by Gülen’s teachings. They said the Cemaat management did not take any initiative, but that the plot could have been carried out by low-level members. Those who are close to the government deny the government’s involvement as well,” Yıldırım said, adding, “Then there is [an Operation] Gladio carried out by neither Cemaat nor the government.”

Source: Todays Zaman , February 13, 2014


Related News

The tragedy in Soma will also be felt in politics

Mr Erdogan has launched what he admits is “a witch hunt”, demoting and reshuffling hundreds of Gulenists within the bureaucracy.

Part of Turkish media say have been shut out by government

Turkish media close to a US-based Islamic preacher accused by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of seeking to usurp power say they have been shut out of government press events in a move they see as evidence of Turkey’s deteriorating press freedoms.

Torture appeared widespread after Turkey coup: UN expert

Measures taken in Turkey after the July 15 coup attempt created an “environment conducive to torture”, and ill treatment appears to have been widespread immediately after the failed putsch, UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer said told reporters in Ankara. “Some recently passed legislation and statutory decrees created an environment conducive to torture,” he said.

A major scandal by the Mukhabarat state

The voice recordings of four phone calls made to Fethullah Gülen were posted on the Internet at midnight on Monday. As you know, Gülen lives in the US. Those who phoned him are some executives from institutions established and run by the people who are inspired by the Hizmet movement in Turkey. The calls do not have any incriminating content. Rather, one of these unlawfully wiretapped recordings exposes how the Hizmet movement was targeted in a conspiracy by circles close to the government.

‘Don’t link Thai schools with terrorists’

Thailand’s foreign ministry has cautioned against any rush to link four Thailand-based schools to a terrorist organization just because they have a handful of foreign shareholders. “We have been in touch with the embassy to request legally recognised and reliable evidence. But we have not received any additional information to date,” Thai foreign ministry spokesman Sek Wannamethee, said yesterday.

I object to AK Party’s ‘New Turkey’ (2)

The problem is that there is a Turkey based on a single identity whose conservative/right-wing tone is more apparent rather than a pluralist vision.

Latest News

Fethullah Gulen – man of education, peace and dialogue – passes away

Fethullah Gülen’s Condolence Message for South African Human Rights Defender Archbishop Desmond Tutu

Hizmet Movement Declares Core Values with Unified Voice

Ankara systematically tortures supporters of Gülen movement, Kurds, Turkey Tribunal rapporteurs say

Erdogan possessed by Pharaoh, Herod, Hitler spirits?

Devious Use of International Organizations to Persecute Dissidents Abroad: The Erdogan Case

A “Controlled Coup”: Erdogan’s Contribution to the Autocrats’ Playbook

Why is Turkey’s Erdogan persecuting the Gulen movement?

Purge-victim man sent back to prison over Gulen links despite stage 4 cancer diagnosis

In Case You Missed It

Peace Islands Massachusetts bestows Friendship Awards

Reflections on the Gulen Movement Conference in Senegal

Islamic scholar Gülen urges followers to remain calm in face of insults

Nigeria Turkish College to Host Language, Culture Festival

Courts order corrections to gov’t media stories on Hizmet

40 CSOs in US slam hate speech being used by gov’t officials

US Rep. Scott: Gülen movement cannot be designated as “terrorist organization”

Copyright 2025 Hizmet News